Case study · Ecotourism
ExplorActive: an outdoor adventure brand, built from zero
ExplorActive is a community-driven platform for outdoor adventures, where people book surf, hiking and diving experiences and guides sell their own. Brandtropic built it from zero as one system: the X mark and a six-color palette, the booking app, the public website, an operations dashboard with an AI assistant, and the campaigns around them.
- Client
- ExplorActive
- Industry
- Ecotourism & outdoor adventure
- Scope
- Brand · App · Website · Operations · Campaigns
- Services
- Branding, web design, AI systems and marketing & content
The challenge: a new brand in a crowded outdoor market
ExplorActive was launching as a completely new brand, with one goal: a community-driven platform for outdoor adventures, experiences and exploration. There was no logo, no product and no system to start from.
- 01 · An identity from zeroEnergetic and modern without leaning on generic “adventure” clichés; connected to nature without losing clarity.
- 02 · Four surfaces at onceA public website, a mobile app, an internal operations tool and physical marketing collateral, all speaking one visual language without repeating themselves.
- 03 · A crowded marketOutdoor and travel brands compete for the same people, with the same mountain photos. ExplorActive had to be recognizable at a glance.
- 04 · Room to growFlexible enough for future campaigns, new activity categories and new markets, without redrawing the brand each time.
The solution: one brand ecosystem, built to move across every surface
Brandtropic designed ExplorActive’s identity, product and platform as one connected system, not four separate deliverables. Everything on this page shares the same mark, the same palette and the same voice.
The platform is organized around three doors in, one for each audience. Explore is for people who want to find and book adventures. Inspire is for guides and instructors who want to sell their own experiences. Connect is for the community around them.
The same three words structure the website, the welcome screen of the app (“What brings you here today?”) and the street campaign, so someone who first meets the brand on a poster lands somewhere familiar when they open the app.
The identity: a mark built for movement
The identity centers on the “X”: a simple figure that stands for motion, for risk, and for the connection between people and the experience. It holds up at any size, from an app icon to a campaign poster, and it works stitched on apparel, printed on merch and stamped on gift cards.
Six colors carry the system: bone and olive for the ground, sky and deep blue for water and air, coral and lime for the rush. Enough range for three very different activities that still read as one family.
- Bone
#F9FEE7 - Coral
#EB8068 - Lime
#D5FD5E - Olive
#719344 - Sky
#5CBFCD - Deep Blue
#2B648A
The website: the same energy as the app
Responsive and image-forward, the site opens on a wide landscape and one line: “The world is your playground.” Then it walks the visitor through the three doors, each with its own promise.
- Explore: find your next adventure. Discover vetted guides and book real experiences — surf, hike or dive — in a few taps, with every activity on one map, guides reviewed and rated, and availability in real time.
- Inspire: turn your skill into a business. Guides and instructors list a session, set the price, duration and level, and manage bookings with no middleman. Reviews build their reputation.
- Connect: belong to something outdoors. Share trip reports, follow other explorers and find people heading your way.
It closes the way it opened: three ways in, pick yours. A website with one entrance per audience does a simple thing well — nobody has to work out which part of the page is for them.
The app: one app, every kind of adventure
Discover, book and review outdoor experiences in a few taps. Real guides, real availability and one consistent flow, whatever the activity.
The flow starts with the activity — surf, hiking or diving — and a destination on the map. Each experience opens on a full-bleed photo, then the guide: their specialty and rating, how long the session runs, the level it suits, the number of reviews and a short description in their own words. Below that, the price per session and one button to book.
Three activity categories share one layout, so learning the app once is enough, and a fourth category can slot in without a redesign.
The operations: the system behind the adventure
Brandtropic also designed an internal dashboard for the ExplorActive team: bookings, guides, activities and payments in one place, plus an AI assistant that keeps every asset on brand.
- BookingsEvery upcoming session across activity types, with its guide, location, date and status, and the week at a glance.
- GuidesEveryone onboarded to lead a session, with their specialty, location, rating and number of bookings.
- ActivitiesEvery experience listed on the platform, with its location and price per session.
- PaymentsPayouts to guides: what has been paid and what is still processing.
- ReportsPlatform health in one view — bookings, guide response, traveler ratings and new cities.
- AI assistantTrained on the operation. It flags bookings that need confirming and a guide who is overbooked, proposes moving a session to someone else and drafts the note to the client — for a person to approve.
- Asset creatorTrained on the brand kit. Pick a format (post, story, reel, flyer, brochure, event or merch) and an activity theme, and it drafts an on-brand piece with no prompt guesswork.
The results: from concept to a scalable brand
A working system the ExplorActive team can run and grow with, not just a look. The numbers count what was delivered.
- One mark and six colors that hold up from an app icon to apparel and campaign posters.
- Three doors — Explore, Inspire, Connect — shared by the website, the app and the campaigns.
- A booking flow that works the same for surf, hiking and diving, ready for the next category.
- An operations dashboard where bookings, guides, payments and on-brand assets live together, with an AI that drafts and a person who approves.
- 4Platforms unified: website, app, operations dashboard and print
- 3Activity categories launched: surf, hiking and diving
- 12App and web screens designed
- 6Core brand colors, one system
Questions about this project
Straight answers, no runaround.
Who designed the ExplorActive brand and app?
Brandtropic designed it end to end: the X mark and six-color palette, the booking app for surf, hiking and diving, the public website, the internal operations dashboard, and the merch, gift cards and campaign posters, all as one connected system.
Can Brandtropic design a booking app or marketplace for my business?
Yes. Apps, internal dashboards and CRM systems are part of our custom AI systems work, and they can run together with the brand and the website as one project. Every project is quoted in three tiers — Basic, Mid and Heavy — with a clear proposal before you commit.
What does the AI assistant in the ExplorActive dashboard do?
It is trained on the operation and on the brand kit. It flags bookings that need attention, proposes fixes like moving a session to another guide, drafts client messages and creates on-brand posts, flyers and merch. Every draft waits for a person to approve it.
One brand, four surfaces, one team.
Identity, mobile app, public website and the operations dashboard, designed by Brandtropic as one connected system. Tell us where your business is, and we reply with a first read of your case and a clear proposal. No commitment.